US committed to lasting ties with Afghan, Pak: Hillary

WASHINGTON (Agencies) - The United States is committed to build a lasting partnership with Afghanistan and Pakistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday.
While our military mission in Afghanistan is not open-ended, we are committed to building lasting partnerships with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, she said at a joint media availability with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.
The current situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan was one of the major topics of discussion with between the two leaders, including the forthcoming London meet on Afghanistan. Hillary said that the State Department last week released a comprehensive plan to implement a civilian strategy that offers the best prospect for stabilising Afghanistan and Pakistan. It includes the work of many agencies across our government, she said.
We will also be focusing at the London conference on the Afghan Govts commitments and plans to spur sustainable economic development, to improve governance, to fight corruption, she said.
Franco said Italy and the US have the same goals on Afghanistan.
Italy is on board on training police, on contributing to local development, in dealing with cross-border issues, and working together with partners, European partners, and US, on transition of powers to Afghanis authorities, he said.
These can be, should be done from the London conference to the months to come to show the people in Afghanistan that we want a political solution. We want to talk about a national reconciliation while making a very clear distinction between those who renounce violence and those who dont. They - we cannot make a confusion, he said.
Meanwhile, US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said Monday that Al Qaeda has started feeling the heat as a result of the intensification of American efforts against it in the AfPak region.
The intensification of our efforts against Al-Qaeda and its allies in Western Pakistan and on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is continual. And they are feeling the heat, Richard Holbrooke told a news channel in an interview.
They can always try to blow up a plane or do one of these terrorist attacks, but they dont affect our determination and they only highlight the reason were there, Holbrooke said.
Holbrooke said he believes that Osama bin Laden is in the AfPak border. I think hes on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, he said.
To a question on Pakistan, Holbrooke said Islamabad has a finite number of resources against a very elusive enemy in some of the toughest terrain on Earth. He said he is pleased and impressed by the efforts of the Pakistani Army.
Can they do more? Well, thats up to them. Im not going to publicly berate them; because I know what a tremendous strain and pressure theyre under. And I think we should be cognizant of that effect, he said.
We have got a long way to go. Pakistan needs our help not just because of the militants and Al-Qaeda but also because of the situation in the rest of the country, he said.